Kabul: Afghanistan’s Taliban has rejected claims made by US President Donald Trump that China holds control over Bagram Airfield. The sprawling air base in question is situated about 44 kilometres north of the national capital of Kabul and served as the central command for the 20-year US-led campaign in the country.
“They should refrain from making emotional statements based on unsubstantiated information,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told their official broadcaster when asked for a response to Trump’s claims that China currently controls the air base.
“Bagram is controlled by the Islamic Emirate [Taliban regime], not China. Chinese troops are not present here, nor do we have any such pact with any country,” Mujahid said in the interview broadcast on Saturday night. He went on to request the Trump administration to explain to the president and “correct his information about Afghanistan.”
While it was Trump who negotiated the troop withdrawal deal with the Taliban back in 2020, the overall deal was implemented during former US President Joe Biden’s term. During his election campaign speeches, Trump frequently claimed that Bagram was under the control of China’s People’s Liberation Army, and he reiterated it before his first Cabinet meeting last week, saying Biden should have kept control of the former US base.
Trump also condemned the Biden administration, claiming that they handled the situation poorly, saying the departing troops left behind billions of dollars’ worth of equipment. The remarks come at a time when China has increased cooperation with Taliban-run Afghanistan since the American troops’ exit from the country.
